(To be posted closer to publication date on Goodreads and Amazon)

Ever since I learned about women who write to, fall in love with and marry men on Death Row, I've been fascinated by this phenomenon, so this book was a must-read. Lloyd keeps the first three-quarters or so beautifully on track as Samantha obsesses about a handsome killer, gets involved in the campaign to free him and marries him, despite him being effectively a stranger.

Along side this main story is a sub-strand which calls into question Samantha's own past behaviour and quite how balanced she herself is. This teetering between him and her reminded me a little of the Gone Girl dynamic, though this isn't as subtle overall or as clever in probing gender stereotypes and the conceit of marriage.

All the same, this keeps the tension high and I changed my mind a couple of times as to where I thought the book was going, and ended up staying up late to find out whether I was right (sort of!).

The dénouement is a little too flashy, a lttle too brief and a little too truncated to have quite the effect it should have - all the same, a dark thriller at the more credible end of the spectrum (mostly) with a good tense atmosphere.

The Innocent Wife was a brilliantly immersive read - if you watched Making A Murderer you'll probably like this - taking that type of premise as a starting point then taking the reader on a kind of "behind the scenes" journey - focusing on Sam, obsessed with the subject to the point that she drops everything, moves to the States and ultimately marries him. Then, however, the campaign is successful and she's faced with living with a man she barely knows and who may not be as innocent as he seems.

Through her we meet the television crew, the people from the hometown of the dead girl, various other involved parties and start to slowly uncover the genuine truth of the matter. What I loved about it was the way the author obfuscates her characters, making it hard to see realities but done in a very realistic manner. Dennis is a mass of contradictions, one moment you are full of sympathy for his plight, others you think "ooh this guy is dangerous" but until you reach the final pages you are never quite sure.

Sam as a character I did find a little insipid - she's easily lead and suffers from extreme jealousy, she is often blinded to the truths around her simply by the sheer force of her obsessive nature - but this makes her very real, it didn't feel strange that she left her life and married a possible murderer.

Overall a really great, gripping, page turner of a read. You just want to know - I also thought the ending was cleverly thought provoking.

Recommended.